Heart and Soul
by MyNameIsCrazy
Summary: What if R never met Julie? How would their story be different? Well, he meets Emily instead. A wild spirit who was left for dead basically by her group. R x OC PLEASE R&R! I LOVE REVIEWS. THEY MAKE MY DAY :3
1. Chapter 1

I don't own Warm Bodies! Isaac Marion does!

* * *

Day 3 of Isolation:

So here I am, left for dead basically. I was abandoned by my group when we went out scavenging and I ran in search of shelter. I lodged myself in an old hotel room. Corpses on a few of the floors. Took stairs. Safer that way, I guess.

Food is scarce and I risk my own safety every time I venture out in search of it. Corpses all over the place. Luckily I stole some rancid blood from a blood bank truck. Clothes are splattered with it. Disgusting. But hey, I don't get eaten this way.

It's not fun, being isolated and alone. I wish I could get home again. But how do I get home? Oh yeah, I don't.

* * *

She walked through the streets at dusk, in search of a restaurant or something that would have any canned rations left. But every place she checked was empty. Depresses and hopeless she returned to the hotel.

Or at least tried to, anyway. A pack of corpses had walked across her path. Scrambling to hide behind a tractor trailer, she was too late. A corpse had spotted her. He staggered over and she struggled to remain quiet, not to make a sound.

'He'll just go away,' she repeated in her head. 'He's just going to go away.'

But he didn't. He staggered closer and closer to her hiding spot, the stench of rot all around the air. Sh started choking and held a hand to her mouth to strain the air.

He crouched in front of her and she stared into his pale blue eyes. There was something inside her telling her that he wasn't going to eat her. At least, not now.

"...C...ome..." he whispered hoarsely. She shook her head, hand still over her mouth and he nodded.

"...Not...sa...fe," he hissed.

'Really? I hadn't noticed. I was just out for a leisurely afternoon stroll with the corpses,' she thought bitterly. He took her by the elbow and forced her up. He was taller than she had expected. Of course he did. But from the ground, everything looked huge. But, so was she. Five foot ten of total ass-walloping.

"Are you going to eat me?" she whispered. He gnashed his teeth and shook his head. Relieved, she let him take her wherever they were going.

'Why am I getting a deja vu feeling I met her before?' he thought, looking at her while they walked. Her dark hair seemed so familiar that he had to remember something.

He was pulling her in the direction of the airport. She wasn't sure why they were going there, but she guessed it was so he could eat her in private. Not wanting to cause a scene, she didn't struggle. Had it been an abandoned street where there were so other corpses around, she'd have blown his brains out by now. But something else told her that she was going to be okay.

They arrived at the airport, about a mile from her camp out and about ten from the wall and what was left of civilization. Walking through the airport, the corpses were staring at her in a strange way. She shivered under the gazes, but they were dead. They must always look like that.

They got to the bridge that lead to the gates and tarmac when she finally spoke.

"I want to go back to my camp. I'm all alone there, and it's actually relatively safe," she said. He was taken aback. She was very soft spoken to him.

"...N...o... N...ot...sa...fe," he muttered. She sighed and let him drag her again.

But she still had other questions for him. "Where are you taking me?" she asked the back of his head. He shrugged.

'Why was I taking her?' he thought. 'Was it because she was hot? Maybe. She was strong-willed though. Maybe that tied into her hotness. I don't know anymore.'

She kept gazing at him as they climbed up a rolling staircase into the cab of an old plane.

"So this is where you hide out?" she asked, looking around, touching things that caught her attention. "You bring every girl home like this?"

He looked at her. "...Wh...at...?" he groaned.

"Bringing girls home. Oh come on! You have to have some zombie girlfriend," she said, shoulders slumping and a grin playing across her lips.

'Holy shit, she's gorgeous. Don't be creepy, don't be creepy,' he thought.

"...D...on't..." he replied. She laughed.

"Really? I figured you would. Or did, anyway," she replied, turning back to the nostalgia.

"You've got some cool stuff," she muttered, barely audible. Then she saw the records.

"Damn, I love vinyl." Picking up a record sleeve, she turned it over in her hands. "These are amazing. You've got your own little record store going on."

"...I...co...llect..." he stuttered.

"I can tell. You're hoarding," she laughed and he shrugged.

"You know, I've never actually heard corpses say anything other than 'Nnnnnnuuuuugggghhhhh'," she said, groaning loudly and occasionally her voice cracking. A weak smile forced its way onto his face and she caught it.

"That funny to you?" she laughed. He nodded and she continued her impressions.

Time passed after she hhad stopped and she sat down, setting her gun next to her.

"You know, I never got your name," she said.

'My name? Oh god, what was it. I know it starts with...' "Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..." he started, struggling with remembering his name.

"Does it start with 'R'?" she asked. He perked up and nodded slowly.

"Alright R," she continued smiling.

"...Y...ou...?" he asked.

"Emily DeCanter," she smiled.

* * *

Back at the civilization, General Grigio's lieutenant was exploding.

"You LOST my daughter? How could you lose a five foot ten tall twenty-two year old!" he shouted at the boy in front of him.

"We were attacked sir. We were lucky that we got out with who we had," he whimpered. Lieutenant DeCanter was fuming. He walked around and put his hands behind his head.

"Well, boy, if she's alive, you're safe. If not, it's your life on the line," he growled, making the boy cringe.

* * *

Emily looked at R intrigued. He was actually not that inhuman looking. Except for some scars and strange veins on his neck, he looked alright by her. Almost, _human_. His bright blue eyes were still as intriguing as ever. His black hair was matted and sticky-uppy in places, giving him the look of a playful child.

'Ha, that's a laugh,' she thought. But he still maintained that innocent look.

R looked back at Emily and saw his reflection in her eyes. They were a jade green color, like mossy brown rocks. Long lashes batted in front of them and perfectly sculpted black eyebrows framed them. Long dark locks fell over her shoulders and in her eyes. Her red plaid shirt was stressing at the bust, something his eyes kept darting to.

'Come on, don;t be creepy,' he thought, mentally scolding himself. The sky outside was growing dark and he stood.

"...St...ay...here..." he said to her, turning to leave the 747 plane. She nodded, wonder at where he was going eating at her insides, but she didn't inquire.

He left and shut the door and she scrambled to the window. He was walking away with a few other corpses that had gathered there. She prayed that he wouldn't tell them about her being there. She sighed, trying not to fog up the glass on the windows.

* * *

When he returned, she was fast asleep, and he set a can of Green Giant corn on the seat next to her gun. He took a seat in the aisle across from her, watching her sleep.

She shifted in the chair and he turned right back around.

'You're being creepy, stop it,' he thought. He looked back at her and she shivered. He stood and pulled a blanket out of the overhead cabinet and draped it over her. Immediately, she snuggled up under the blanket, pulling it up under her chin. He sat back down and continued to watch her sleep.

She looked so peaceful like that. Her lips were slightly parted and she was snoring slightly. He stood and walked to the cockpit of the plane and sat down in the pilot's seat. There was a small container of brains on the chair next to him and he grabbed a little.

The memory hit him like a freight train.

* * *

_"__Emily, I don't want you to leave," he said from the bed. Emily stood next the bed, putting her clothes back on. She looked at her shirtless boyfriend and smiled. _

_"Then I won't," she smiled, leaning down to kiss him. He pulled her onto him and she smiled as he ran his hands over her back and over her shoulders and down her arms. _

_"I love you, baby," he said, lips moving over her neck, his hand brushing her hair away softly. _

_"I love you too, Dustin," she smiled, looking into his eyes. _

* * *

When morning dawned she stretched, smiling. She turned to face R and her face fell.

"I thought I was back at my camp out," she said dully.

"...Ca...n't...leave...Not...safe..." he stuttered.

"Uh-hunh. I get that. So what can I do while I wait?" she said, looking around. R stood and walked back to the galley. She watched him walk back and come again and looked at him. He handed her a PSP that still had a really good game in the port.

"Holy shit! Where'd you get this?" she asked, wide eyed and grinning. He shrugged and she smiled.

"You shrug a lot, don't you?" she laughed and he shrugged again.

"I guess your range of movement it limited when you're dead," she said quietly, looking the PSP carefully. It was still fully charged.

As she played the PSP, he handed her a can opener.

"Why would I need this?" she snorted, waving it around. R pointed to the can of corn and she gazed at it hungrily. Licking her lips, she grabbed the can and popped a hole in it. R handed her a dish and she poured the corn into the dish and ate it with a plastic spoon sitting on the armrest.

"Finally, some real food," she said, mouth full of corn.


	2. Chapter 2

Day 4 of Isolation:

So it's not all bad. They're not all that bad. I met one. His name is R. And he's surprisingly really sweet. I still don't know what happened to Dustin. Do I miss him anymore? I don't know. That happened a few weeks ago, when he did a solo mission and never came back.

* * *

Later that afternoon, R took Emily to the parking garage.

"Why are we here?" she asked. He pointed to the dirty red convertible and she squealed.

"...Sh..." he croaked, pressing a finger to his lips and she bit her lip, quieting down. They climbed into the car and she took off towards the tarmac and the runways.

"WOOHOO!" she yelled as the air screamed past them, her hair whipping back. "This rides like a dream!"

R looked at her as they drove, and he tried to smile. She kept her eyes on the road, and he turned back around.

'This girl is really amazing,' he thought. 'Everything I want. I think.' Somewhere, deep down in the dusty crevices of his chest chasm, something beat. His heart beat.

* * *

Lieutenant DeCanter paced back and forth in his quarters, waiting for General Grigio.

"General," he said, saluting the army general when he walked in.

"Your girl is tough. I don't doubt her abilities to survive for a minute," he started.

Lieutenant DeCanter looked crestfallen. "What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded.

"I'm not sending out any units to look for her. I trust she will return soon," the general said.

The lieutenant fumed. "That's my little girl out there! If that was Julie, you'd be scouring the streets for her!" he yelled.

"Lieutenant, don't raise your voice. She will be fine."

"What if corpses got her? What if she starved? I have to find my Emily!" He was crying now. The general reached out a comforting shoulder to the fellow father, but he shook it off.

"Please leave, general," he said.

* * *

Back in the plane, Emily was looking at everything that R had. Records, movies, sunglasses. Little trinkets that held no value except that of memorial.

"I have to get back, R. I've been gone for too long," she said finally, looking him straight in the eye.

"...N...o...Th...ey'll...notice," he stammered. She looked out the sunny window and back at him.

"Alright," she agreed. "But one more day, and then I go back." R nodded and she smiled.

* * *

Later that night, after R had gone out for a while, he returned to the parking garage.

"R!" someone shouted. R took off in the direction Emily's voice came from and found her cornered by a few people. Er.. Corpses.

He staggered over and shielded her and the others backed off and stumbled away. Except for M.

"She...living?" he managed to get out. R nodded and M shook his head.

"Living...eat..."

"...N...ot...her..."

M nodded again. "EAT!" he shouted. Now he did it. There was a snarl from the doorway and a Bonie appeared.

"Eat..." M said quietly as R and Emily took off running, the Bonie in hot pursuit. They through the parking garage and out onto the tarmac where they met up with another one, creeping up to them.

Then M hit it with a baggage cart and looked at them.

"Get on," he said, looking at them. Emily did as she was told.

M turned to R and looked at him.

"Pretty...girl..." he said and R managed a half smile. Emily smiled to herself as they took off towards the parking garage near the plane.

Once they were on board, M took off again. Emily slumped in a chair and closed her eyes.

"...Wh...at...were you...th...inking?" he asked. She turned her head and opened her eyes.

"I dunno, R. I guess I just wanted to get home," she replied, looking at the ceiling of the plane.

'Seems like a reasonable answer. I mean, I have no reason for what I do, mostly. But that's because I'm dead,' he thought. "...Keep...you safe," he said to her. She looked at him with wonder and bemusement.

"Why?" she asked. He shrugged and she smiled.

"I guess that's a reasonable answer." She returned her gaze to the window and immediately sat up.

"R, lock the doors now," she said, sharpness in her tone. He did as he was told, locking the storm locks on the plane doors. She motioned for him to dim the lights then join her at the window. He dimmed them and then leaned over to her at the window. The silhouettes of a few Bonies were visible across the tarmac.

"...S...ee? Not...s...afe," he told her and she looked at him and nodded.

* * *

The next morning, Emily was sitting crosslegged in one of the seats, staring out the window.

"What were those things? The skeletons?" she asked R, not looking at him. R sat up and looked at her.

"Bonies. Th...ey...eat...an...ything...with...a heart...beat," he responded.

"Why?"

"Just...do..." 'Honestly, I didn't know why they did. Maybe it was to keep us dead guys in check? Keep us from overpopulating, but we don't. Either you come back or you don't. End of story. Why I did, I'll never know,' he thought. 'But why do you write in that journal constantly? It's a habit. It's something you just do.'

* * *

Day 5 of Isolation:

He's different than all the others. He's kind and sweet, and keeps me safe. Why people make such a big deal over them is crazy. Sure they eat us, but they're not all that bad right? Maybe they can heal themselves. I've even noticed some changes in R the past few days. He's less...dead, if that's even the right word.

* * *

She tucked her small notepad into her pocket and returned her gaze to R.

'You were staring again. Great. Real nice. Now she'd going to think you're crazy,' he thought bitterly. 'Ask her about her journal; why she keeps it.'

"...W...hy...d...o...y...ou...keep...that...jour.. .nal?" he asked her, catching her attention.

"Oh this thing?" she replied, smiling and waving her notepad around. He nodded and she dropped her smile. "To...You know, I honestly have no idea why I keep this. I guess it's just out of habit. I found a little spiral bound notepad in the hotel room and started keeping little entries since my 'isolation', I call it."

'Isolation? But you're with someone now. You're not isolated anymore. Why do you need to keep an isolation journal? It's pointless. I mean, you were once isolated, as you said. But not anymore. You're on a plane. With me.'

"You...re not...isolated...anymore...though," he said. She pondered this. Then he added, "With...me..."

"You know, you're right. I'm with another..." she searched for the proper term. "Being now that I honestly don't need it. I guess it's to remind myself that I was once."

She pulled the journal out again and looked at it. "I don't think I need this anymore. But you know what?" she asked, addressing him.

"Wha...?" he replied.

"I'm still going to keep it. As a reminder." But then his last comment struck her.

"I am with you..." she said quietly, her voice trailing off. She gazed at him and thought. "What are you?"

* * *

"It's been almost a week, general! I want my Emily back!" Lieutenant DeCanter shouted. The general tried to calm him down, but it was futile.

"My little girl could be DEAD by now for all we know! She could be a corpse, walking around and waiting to devour people!" he went on. "If this was Julie, you'd be out there EVERY DAY looking for her! You'd be sick with worry! But NO! You have your little girl safe at home! While I have to worry what perilous situation mine is in!"

* * *

Emily burst out laughing as she pawed through old pictures of people whose memories were long forgotten.

"Look at this!" she said, her ribs hurting from laughing so much. R took the picture and looked at the three teenagers making faces with french fries stuck up their nostrils. He half heartedly smiled and handed Emily back the picture. She exchanged it for another one of a father and his family at Disney World with Mickey Mouse.

"I remember how the world was before this infection," she said, rifling through the pictures, box by box by box. There seemed to be thousands.

'I don't. I don't even remember my name, what my last meal was. I'm lucky I remember the past week if anything. I feel as though my brain is just eating itself to keep alive. If not for that, what would I be?'


	3. Chapter 3

Day 6 of...insert good replacement word here for isolation.

I don't feel alone anymore. He has kept me company, kept me safe. I said I wouldn't write in this anymore, that I was only going to keep it as a reminder. I find myself writing again, a nasty habit. Oh well, so much for bad habits dying hard.

* * *

Emily awoke the next morning to find R sitting across the aisle from her, as per usual. She looked at him and smiled. He tried again and watched Emily sit up and look around.

'Will you stop being creepy? You're practically watching every move she makes. But hey? Who could blame me? She's a bombshell.'

"I want to go home," she said, absent-mindedly gazing out the window. "I want to find Dustin. I never told you. He was my fiancée. We were going to get married a year from now. No matter what."

'Great. Not only did I eat her boyfriend, I ate her fiancée. I'm really a great guy, aren't I?' R pulled out a small silver chain and handed it to Emily.

"But this is..." she started. "I was half expecting a corpse got him. I was just hoping it wasn't you," she muttered, looking at the chain.

"...But..." R said, trying to explain. 'Explain what? You ate her love interest! She's not going to forgive you easily.'

"It's alright. I understand. I already suspected he wasn't going to come home. At least," she said, holding up his necklace, "in one piece." Emily smiled half-heartedly and sighed. "But I guess there's nothing to be done now. He won't come back. I know he won't. I know what happens if corpses eat the brain."

Emily looked out the window again. The sky was dull and grey, just like every other day since Dustin's disappearance. "But R?"

'What now? What will she ask now? To go home? Again?' R thought.

Emily didn't wait for a reply. "I want to stay here. I don't want to go home. I'm afraid there isn't going to be a home to go back to any more," she said. She was looking directly at him, her eyes piercing directly into his cold, dead grey eyes. There was something in her eyes. Something that was different than when he had met her before. Something had changed in her. And he had noticed it in himself too.

He wanted to tell her that he had wanted her to stay. But at first, it was because she was gorgeous. Now he saw that her beauty only masked the even more beautiful and restless spirit contained inside Emily. She wanted to be free, to cure everything, to make the world return to the way it was before. And no matter what, he was going to help her.

'What do you think the world would be like if this blasted infection didn't happen? Would we ever have met? I know that answer right away. No. You would've ran your circles, getting married, have a family of gorgeous kids, and I would be, suggested, unemployed and metaphorically dead. You would never have been stuck in your hotel room, and i'd never live on this plane, collecting old shit no one cared about anymore. I guess this is one good thing that came of this.'

"I'm...gl...ad...I...m...et...you..." R said hoarsely. Emily looked at him.

"What?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "Why is that?"

'Truth is, at the beginning, it was because you were hot. Now, its because I see more in you. More to you. Dustin was a cheater. I saw that in his memories. He cheated on you. Several times. He didn't deserve you. He never would deserve you. And I'm not saying I do, because I totally don't. I can barely string two words together, let alone tell you this. I could never tell you this. But some day, I will.'

Emily continued to stare at him, but realizing she wasn't getting an answer, resorted to looking out the window again.

"I had so many things to say to Dustin. I was going to break off the engagement, for one," she said. R stared at her.

"Wha...?" he choked out.

"I knew Dustin cheated on me. And I wasn't ready to get married. It's just that," she started, tearing up. "I tried so many times to convince myself that it was love. But I was just another girl. He knew that. And he strung me along with the romantic notions of getting married. It was never real."

Tears rolled down her cheeks and R stood , only to take the empty seat next to her. She turned to look at him, crocodile tears falling down. Emily let out a loud sob and fell onto R's chest, balling her fist in his shirt.

She heard something faint, like a heartbeat and jolted up quickly. "Your heart beat. A few times," she whispered. R grabbed her wrist and put her hand from clinging to his shirt to higher up, over his chest, over his heart. Underneath her hand she felt a pulse.

"That's impossible," she said, snatching her hand away quickly. "Corpses are dead. They don't have a heartbeat." Apparently this was too much for her, because she stood up and walked away to the other end of the plane, near the galley.

R sat back in the seat and stared at the headrest in front of him. 'Great. Now you scared her. You're just full of great ideas aren't you?'


End file.
